File systems manage files and other data objects stored on computer systems. File systems were originally built into a computer's operating system to facilitate access to files stored locally on resident storage media. As computers became networked, some file storage capabilities were offloaded from individual user machines to special storage servers that stored large numbers of files on behalf of the user machines. When a file was needed, the user machine simply requested the file from the server. In this server-based architecture, the file system was extended to facilitate management of and access to files stored remotely at the storage server over a network.
Today, file storage is migrating toward a model in which files are stored on various networked computers, rather than on a central storage server. The serverless architecture poses new challenges to file systems. One particular challenge concerns managing files that are distributed over many different computers in a manner that allows files to be reliably stored and accessible in spite of varying ones of the computers being inaccessible at any given time, while at the same time preventing access to the files by non-authorized users. Of particular importance is the need to protect data stored on the computers in the event of a catastrophe that potentially allows a hacker or unauthorized user of a computer to alter or destroy data stored in the networked computers.
The invention addresses these challenges and provides solutions that are effective for serverless distributed file systems.